Saw-mill set-works



W. P. S'OOIEIELD] SAW MILL SET WORKS.

(No Model.)

Patented Dec. 4', 1883.

INVENTOR UNITED STATES 'WALTER P. SGOFIELD, on HAWTHORN, FLORIDA;

SAW-MILL sewn/oaks.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 289,572, dated December 4, 1883.

Application filed March 8 1883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: r

Be it known that I, WALTER P. SooFIELD, of Hawthorn, inthe county of Alachua and State of Florida, have invented new and useful Improvements in Saw-Mills, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to saw-mills in which the set-works of i the head-blocks are driven by contact of revolving pulleys or wheels with the opposite surfaces of a wheel or drum on the pinion-carrying shaft of the carriage for automatically moving the head-blocks forward or backward for setting the log to the saw, the object of this invention being to improvetlie construction of the saw-mill patented to me December 12, 1882, and numbered 269,123, in such mannerv as shall promote the more easy and effective working of the mill and increase its durability.

The present improvements consist in a con trivance of belt -shifting devices whereby a trip-block on the log carriage will automatically shift the belt from the loose to the tight pulley of the feed-works driving-shaft to rotate the latter only when the log-setting apparatus is to beoperated; in an arrangement of pivoted bearings for such driving-shaft to .Support it steadily its whole length, said hearings to be swung down by a trip-plate of the carriage which passes beneath .the setworks driving-pulley; and in a locking device for the connecting-rods of the oppositely-acting friction-wheels of the setting apparatus to lock said wheels out of contact withthe setworks drive-wheel, all as hereinafter'fully de- The track a, carriage b, with its shaft 0, car;

rying the friction-drum or drive-wheel d, and pinions e, which pinions gear with the racks e of the head-block knees f, for setting the log onthe carriage by the engagement with the drum or wheel d of the swinging friction-pulleys or wheels 9 g, driven by belts from the main driving-pulley h, splined or feathered to the setrworks driving-shaft i, and carried along with the carriage by the engagement of a forked arm, j, of the carriage with the grooved hub 76, are all substantially similar in con- 6o struction and operation to the corresponding mechanisms shown in my aforesaid patent, No. 269,123, and therefore need no extended de' In the former arrangement carriage moved forward and back while the log was being sawed, which, in view of the short time required to set the log by the action of the set-works, resulted in excessive and unnecessary wear of the parts and a considera. 7o

ble loss of power; and to obviate these difficulties, by causing a rotation of the shaft 0; only when the log is to be set onthe headblocks, and to accomplish this automatically by the movement of the carriageflhave arranged on the shaft t a tight pulley, Z, and a loose pulley, m, with a belt, at, which. passes through the eye or fork of a shipping-lever, 0,

that is pivoted to a suitable support, and connects by a rod or link, p, with the short arm of alever, q, pivoted at r to the track a or other support, so that the weighted long arm of the lever may fall to a stop or rest, 8, for normally rm holding the belt-shipper 0 upon the loose pulley m, to permit shaft i to remain at rest during the traverse of the carriage to take the log to and from the saw; and to provide for automatically starting the set-works when the carriage is gigged back after making a cut I fix to the carriage the trip block or plate t, 0

which rides upon the short arm of lever q, or a friction-roller, oflthereon, to raise the weight ed end of the lever and ship the belt on to the tight pulley Z, to rotate shaft 1' and make the set-works operative to turn the wheel. (1 either 5 way for shifting the knees of the head-blocks, which being done, by working the lever to as required to set the log, the carriage may again be started forward for making a new cut, and

when the tripper t has passed by or over the ICC short arm of lever q, the latter will lodge on stop 8 and again carry belt a to the loose pulthe track a at intervals as may be required to steady and support shafts i, of varying length, such shafts for long mills being insufficiently supported by bearings i at the ends only, which permit the shafts to sag centrally and wabble, and thereby overstrain their bearings and all connected parts of the mill. The upper ends of the bearing-arms o are forked to inclose the lower half of the shaft 2' for its support, and their lower ends are weighted, as at z, to cause them to swing back to a normal vertical position when they are swung over on their pivots by a cam or trip plate, a, fixed to the carriage, which plate a I prefer to make in a curved form, extending beneath the pulley h and hub k, and connecting the arms b, which are fixed to carriage b, and which also form movable bearings or supports 0 for the shaft 1' at both sides of the drive-pulley and hub. h 70, insuring increased steadiness of operation of the set-works. The trip-plate a is rounded at both ends to swing the shaft-bearings 'v easily as the carriage moves in either direction, the said bearings resuming their vertical position to support shaft 13 when the parts h 7.0 have passed them, as will be understood from Figs. 2 and 3; and I propose to line the shaft-bearings c and o with Babbitt or other suitable anti-friction metal, and arranged to take up the wear. The shaft 41 is thus supported amply along its length, permitting the shaft to be made of lighter material. I also propose to lock the lever a, to which the connecting-rods d of the friction-wheels g g are attached, by a spring-bolt, f, sliding on the lever, so as to engage a slot, 9, of the standard h, to which the lever u is pivoted at j the bolt f connecting with a pivoted handgrasp plate, 7c, .arranged at the handle end of the lever conveniently for being pressed to-. ward the lever against the tension of a spring to withdraw the bolt and permit the lever to be worked to bring either of the frictionwheels g into contact with the drum d of the set-works, as desired, and upon again permitting the bolt f to enter slot 9, both the wheels 9 will be locked clear of the drum d, to avoid accidental shifting of the set-works while making a cut, or when it is not desired to shift the position of the knees f. To prevent lost motion in the connections between the rods (2 and their yoke-connections to the friction-wheels g, I thread the lower end of the yoke-arms and secure the arms to the wheel-bearings by nuts Z on the ends of the rods, as in Fig. 5, which afford a rigid connection and facilities for taking up any wear of the joints, and I provide suitable scale-arms, m, along which the pointers n of the knees may indicate the set of the log to the sawyer.

With the improvements above described it is believed that the mill will-work more steadily and effectively at a considerable saving in power and with less attention to the working parts by the sawyer, who may thus be enabled to produce more lumber or timber by the mill in a given time and at less expense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. The combination, with the set -w0rks drive-shaft z and the carriage, of tight and loose pulleys Z m on shaft i, and belt-shipper 0, connecting-rod p, and weighted lever q, substantially as shown and described.

2. I11 saw-mill set-works, the combination, with the drive-shaft i, provided with the tight and loose pulleys Z m, the belt-shipper 0, e011- necting-rod p, and weighted lever q, provided with the friction-roller 0 of the trip-platet on the saw mill carriage, substantially as herein shown and described.

3. In saw-mill set-works, the combination, with the drive-shaft i, of intermediate bearings pivoted to fixed bearings arranged alongthe track, and means for swinging said bearings on theirpivots, substantially as herein shown and described.

4. In saw-mill set-works, the combination, with the drive-shaft z, of the weighted bearing-arms o, pivoted to fixed bearings arranged along the track, and the trip-plate a, secured to projections on the carriage, substantially as herein shown and described.

5. In saw-mill set-works, the combination, with the drive-shaft i and the'bearing-arms o, pivoted to bearings along the track, of the projections b, secured to the carriage and having bearings c, and the downwardly-projecting trip-plate a, connecting said bearings and having rounded ends, substantially as herein shown and described.

6. In saw-mill set-works, the combination, with the carriage b, the set-shaft 0, provided with the drum d, the friction-pulley q, and the forked arm j, of the drive-shaft z, the sliding pulley and hub h It on said drive-shaft, and

the projections 12, secured to the carriage and I having bearings 0 at their ends for the driveshaft, substantially as herein shown and described.

7. In saw-mill set-works, the combination, with the set-shaft 0, provided with the drum (1, and the standard 71/, provided with the notch g, of the lever u, pivoted to said standard, the spring-pressed bolt f on the side of the lever, and the rods (2, connecting said lever and friction-wheels, substantially as herein shown and described.

WALTER I. SOOFIELD.

IVitnesses:

P. R. OHARTAIN, W. W, BAILEY. 

